Children's Product Safety
One of my key achievements since coming to Congress was the passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which became law in 2008. CPSIA represents the most significant improvement in children's product safety and support for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in decades. The law included my provisions to require safety standards and pre-market testing for durable children's products, including cribs, playpens and high chairs, and to ensure children's products come with a postage-paid recall registration card so consumers can be notified by the manufacturer should a problem arise. It also banned lead and dangerous phthalates in children's toys. Through its authority under CPSIA, the CPSC banned dangerous drop-side cribs, which have been linked to more than 30 infant deaths. After years of crib recalls, reports of deaths in unsafe cribs and heel-dragging by the industry, I worked with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Kids in Danger to get recalled cribs off store shelves and out of homes. The CPSIA is now law, and I remain committed to overseeing its strong implementation and to looking for further opportunities to improve the safety of toys and other children's products.
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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, and Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust, released the following joint statement on President Donald Trump's attempt to illegally fire the two Democratic commissioners at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC):
I hope you and your family are taking time to enjoy the holiday season! With so much going on right now, it helps to take a step back and reflect on all the good things in the world.
As the holiday shopping season kicks into full gear, we must reign in the excessive power of companies and fully fund the Consumer Product Safety Commission to improve product safety and better protect consumers. To report a dangerous product or to check if a product is recalled, go to SaferProducts.gov.
There is no doubt in my mind that President Joe Biden will go down in history as one of the most consequential presidents of all time. In his one term in office, President Biden created more jobs than any previous administration in the same time span. He lowered prescription drug prices and capped insulin for Medicare beneficiaries at $35 a month. He made the largest ever investment in our climate. He fought for every American – he advocated for workers’ rights, and championed LGBTQ+ and women’s rights. I thank President Biden for his decades of unrelenting service.
Parents have an expectation that the products they purchase around their home and for their children are safe, but unfortunately, that is not always the case. Last year, 100 children’s products were recalled, the highest number since 2013.
As the Ranking Member of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over consumer protection issues, I will continue fighting to keep dangerous products, like water beads and button batteries, out of kids' hands.
I recently became aware of two alarming and hateful acts in my district. The first incident occurred late last week in the Devonshire neighborhood of Skokie when numerous ‘We Stand with Israel’ signs were vandalized and shredded apart. The second display occurred at a rally in Evanston on Saturday where the antisemitic Hamas flag was flaunted. I wholeheartedly condemn these actions.
As a longtime consumer advocate, I have worked very closely with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which is tasked with keeping the public safe from consumer products that pose an unreasonable risk of injury or death. In addition to its own work, the CPSC relies on online marketplaces, like Meta, to keep consumers safe by preventing the posting for sale of products that are known to be dangerous.